Car-wheel.



PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907.

T. s. BLAIR, JR.

GAR WHEEL.

k A 0 s R I A THOMAS S. BLAIR, JR., OF ELINIHUBST, ILLINOIS.

CAR-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11, 1907.

Application filed October 30, 1905. Serial No. 285,109.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS S. BLAIR, J r., a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Elmhurst, in the county of Dupage and State ofIllinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in CarWheels, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in the construction of car-wheelinvolving a metal band interposed between the center of relatively softsteel and the tire of relatively hard steel.

The interposed band, in the construction referred to, is a mereflat-sided ring which is inserted into a mold in which the wheel is castby filling the interior of the ring with molten metal to form thewheel-center, and pouring molten metal into the mold about the ring toform the tire; and for permanent fastening of the ring between thecenter and the tire dependence is had, solely, on melting the band bythe heat of the molten metals sufficiently to effect a welded unionbetween its surfaces and those of the center and tire. The production inthis manner of such a union is not reliable, however, so that theflat-sided ring is liable to work loose from the periphery of thewheel-center in the use of the wheel, and thus spoil it, besidesrendering it dangerous; or the tire may work loose from the ring, withlike objectionable results.

The object of my invention is to provide, preferably by the method ofmanufacture thus outlined, an improved construction of the aforesaidwheel, whereby the interposed ring shall be securely and immovablyretained in lace whether or not it be permanently we ded by the heat tothe surfaces between which it is confined. To this end I provide theinterposed ring, either, and preferably, as a continuous band, or in arcshaped sections, in a form adapting it to present about its interiorsurface, an annular recess or pocket to receive and thus envelop therim-portion of the center, and to present a protruding exteriorcircumferential sur face to project into the correspondingly recessed orgrooved inner annular surface of the tire.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a cross-section of a moldsuitable for my purpose, the view being in the nature of a dia gramillustrating the procedure involved in manufacturing my improvedcar-wheel; F ig.

2, a broken sectional elevation of the wheel, and Fig. 3, a similar viewindicating a modification.

As shown, the flask A consists of the circular drag A an annular chill Asurrounding the dra and the circular cope A surmounting the chill theparts being separably fastenedtogether by pins a passing throughcoincident holes in cars I) and 0, respectively projecting from the dragand cope, and ears d and d projecting from the chill. When the mold hasbeen formed in the usual way within the flask, with a pattern, in sandB, prior to adjusting the parts of the flask together a metal key,preferably in the form of a ring C, of V-shape in cross section andformed out of angle-iron, and of the diameter intended for thewheel-center is laid, with its chambered side facing inward, in properposition in the mold concentrically with the core B in which apouring-duct e is provided.

Molten soft steel is poured through the channel 6 into the mold to formthe center a of the wheel D, which is shown to be ribbe forreinforcement, about its hub-portion f The metal thus poured extendsinto the ring 0. After the wheel-center has been thus formed of tough,soft steel, molten steel, treated with chromium, manganese, or otherhardening medium, is poured into the mold about the ring C through aduct h in the mold leading from an opening h in the cope surmounted by afunnel 71,2, and fills the space i in the mold about the key C to formthe hard-metal wheel-rim f. The key thus joins the center and rim of thewheel, rendering them inseparable. If the metal of the key be very thin,say one-sixteenth of an inch thick, it may be wholly melted by the heatof the two metals between which it is confined and thus combine withthem, though even then the junction will be discernible in the completedwheel, as represented in Fig. 3, owing to the difference in the metals.If the metal of the key be too thick to be thus entirely melted, asrepresented in Fig. 2, it will nevertheless serve to securely join therim to the center; though there is liable always to be a partial meltingof the metal of the key sufficient to combine its surface with themetals between which it is confined. The extent of this combining of thesubstance of the ring with the surfaces of the wheel-center and tire,between which it is interposed, is

not material, however, since dependence is not had thereon for firmlyretaining the tire in place.

My invention is not limited to a complete annulus for the key nor to theangle-shape in cross section illustrated, though that shape isdesirableand it is preferred that the key shall form a complete ring.

The gist of my improvement consists in providing the interposed keyingring with a grooved or re-entrant inner annular surface to envelop therim-portion of the Wheel-center, and with a bulging outercircumferential surface to enter and be enveloped in thecircumferentiall y re-entrant or grooved interior surface of the tire sothat the cross-sectional shape of the ring may, without departure frommy invention, be any that will produce this last described constructionwith the attendant advantage of permanency in the union of the partshereinbefore explained. Moreover, While I have immediately devised my improvement for freight-car wheels, it is equally applicable to the wheelsof passenger-cars and locomotives.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A cast-metal car-wheel consisting of a relatively-soft metal centerand a relativelyhard metal tire with a metal ring interposed 0 betweenthem having a circumferentially grooved inner surface enveloping therimportion of said center and a bulging outer surface enveloped in theadjacent circumferentially-grooved surface of the tire.

2. A cast-metal car-wheel consisting of a relatively-soft metal centerand a relativelyhard metal tire With a metal ring interposed between andhaving a Welded union with them, said ring having a circumferentiallygrooved inner surface enveloping the rim- THOMAS S. BLAIR, JR.

In presence of L. HErsLAR, J. H. LANDES.

